Year Out Group - Gap Year | Cultural Exchange | Voluntary Work Abroad

Well I've only managed to write one thing that comes close to putting into words some of my feelings for Yamba... But I'm afraid it's not a short paragraph ;-) I wrote it in the Village Africa visitors' book, just as I was leaving:Last night I wrote this in my ... [ Read more... ]

Waking up and going to bed under the African sun is a completely different experience from waking up and going to bed under an English one, there is nearly always both stunning sunrise and sunset. This August I travelled to South Africa with a company called African Conservation Experience (ACE), ... [ Read more... ]

Volunteering at Yamba Primary School through PoD was an awesome experience. It was important to me to find a short term volunteering project that was valuable to the local community and not just convenient for volunteers. Village Africa is perfect for both short and long term volunteer projects. The village ... [ Read more... ]

"I never took a gap year in the traditional sense of a year out. Instead each summer since my A-levels and through university I have gone away on a project. My projects have taken me from Kenya to Thailand, back to Africa for a three month expedition and then to ... [ Read more... ]

I will never forget the day when we darted a cheetah who had escaped into the next farm and bought her back. We had to get the vet in and I was able to go in the helicopter to try and locate her. It had no doors and the views ... [ Read more... ]

I've just returned from spending 6 amazing weeks in South Africa, with some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life! I went away to South Africa with the Leap, who were so helpful and friendly, unlike other Gap year companies that reel off automated emails, the ... [ Read more... ]

The idea for the trip came about from my current college course, Fdsc Sports Science. Part of the course is to find a WBL (work based learning) project, a lot of students look at locally based work related situations but as I am an older and have experience in the ... [ Read more... ]

"As a biology graduate and a solicitor, you may be forgiven for thinking that all I took from a trip to Italy in my gap year was a Coliseum fridge magnet and a headache. Perhaps that was all I expected too; but a few years down the line, I have ... [ Read more... ]

Helen Taylor is now a Sub lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Here she recounts how her gap year experience enabled her to demonstrate that she had the skills that the Navy look for in their officers.I graduated from Exeter University in 2008 and now I am a Sub-Lieutenant in the ... [ Read more... ]

I decided to take a gap year at the beginning of my 3rd year at university. I didn't really know what I wanted to do as a career and wanted to see somewhere different. Others I know that travelled were off to Australia to work and it just seems a ... [ Read more... ]

The idea for the trip came about from my current college course, Fdsc Sports Science. Part of the course is to find a WBL (work based learning) project, a lot of students look at locally based work related situations but as I am an older and have experience in the ... [ Read more... ]

Unsure about what he wanted to do after finishing school, Mark Pluck decided to take a Gap Year and joined Raleigh's ten week expedition in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Mark looks back on his time with the charity as "a life changing, thoroughly rewarding & unique experience."Before I joined Raleigh ... [ Read more... ]

The latest of Non StopSki's instructor articles comes from Paul Cooper, who bravely walked away from his accountancy career to become a ski instructor. Here's part one of his story:In 2004 I was 33 and working in East London for an accountancy firm. I was a qualified accountant, had a ... [ Read more... ]

Evan completed NonStopSki's 11-week instructor course as part of his gap year after school. He then combined part-time ski instructing in Italy with his degree at university.I had just finished my A-Levels and had loads of aspirations for an amazing gap year, I'd been looking forward to this year for ... [ Read more... ]

Student Zenn Teoh reviews his experiences on the most recent Spring 2010 Semester program:"Two weeks post graduation it's hard to believe that the Yamnuska Mountain Skills Semester for Spring 2010 has concluded. Looking back at the MSS one can hardly fathom what we have achieved as individuals and as a ... [ Read more... ]

Becky Towers didn't plan to take a gap year but after 4 months in Uganda teaching with Africa and Asia Venture she realised it was an experience not to be missed!When did you decide to take a Gap Year and how did you choose what to do?"I hadn't originally planned ... [ Read more... ]

I spent from the beginning of January to the end of March 2009 in Madurai, Southern India, pursuing my interest in medicine by doing work experience in a hospital there.I went with a company called Travellers Worldwide, which I found on the Internet while looking for medical work experience abroad. ... [ Read more... ]

It's hard to believe that the start of my volunteering experience was so long ago in 2002 after I'd just graduated from University. Six years on and it's just incredible to see how Travellers' changed my life.Sri Lanka captured my imagination and had everything I was looking for - a ... [ Read more... ]

Each week I worked at Owairaka, which is a suburb of Auckland on New Zealand's north island, was so incredibly different that it is hard to give an exact description of what a week might be like but here is a general overview of some of the things I got ... [ Read more... ]

I went with a brilliant group to Romania and I hope we will all stay in touch. The Oyster representative is the most amazing coordinator who works way beyond his job description to make sure we had a brilliant experience in Romania and got everything out of the experience that ... [ Read more... ]

I have an Italian background but I had little knowledge of the language. I was looking forward to the linguistic challenge, but was very nervous and excited. Definitely felt better prepared for the experience after talking to the CESA staff.Having lessons solidly in Italian was the real challenge - but ... [ Read more... ]

I had the best time in the world in Peru and met so many interesting and lovely people and learned loads! It was quite overwhelming actually, in a really good way- I still can't stop thinking about it! I would love to go back, but I think it won't be ... [ Read more... ]

One year, two residential courses, several fundraising events and two flights later I find myself at an altitude of 3,600m. I am looking down into the colossal, overwhelming bowl of chaos that is La Paz, Bolivia, our home for the next year. It is 7 in the morning ... [ Read more... ]

My placement in Buenos Aires was absolutely the best I could have imagined. I chose to attend Salsa, Tango and Spanish classes for two weeks. Although I arrived by myself I was introduced to other Traveller's volunteers and was put in a room with some of them and we immediately ... [ Read more... ]

When did you decide to take a gap year and why?
After University I was unsure as to what I wanted to do for a career, so whilst in this difficult economic climate I decided that I would do some volunteer work in a country I had never before thought of. ... [ Read more... ]

When did you decide to take a gap year and why? I decided in my final year at university to take a gap year after graduating. I wanted to follow my degree with a masters but wasn't sure if this was the right choice at the right time. I have ... [ Read more... ]

After two years of waiting and planning, finally I arrived in Bucharest airport. Before I set off for London Heathrow Airport, I was apprehensive to say the least. This was my first time travelling alone and taking part in a project like this. Had I known everything would run smoothly, ... [ Read more... ]

Firstly I want to apologise for not replying to any of the emails you sent me while we were out in Kenya! I haven't been ignoring them, it's just that on the very few occasions I managed to get online I didn't think I could do justice to telling you ... [ Read more... ]

I am normally a pretty unemotional person, neither the end of Rose and Jack in Titanic nor the end of my school leaver's ball made me cry, yet I was in absolute floods of tears whilst leaving the Art History Abroad (AHA) group behind at Rome train station (leaving the ... [ Read more... ]

My experience in Thailand was one I will never forget. The wildlife centre was an amazing place to wake up every morning and the people you meet from all over the world will be friends forever! The combined elephant centre is also well worth doing (an offer almost exclusive with ... [ Read more... ]